Eros Agosto

Crime Scene Reconstruction Using a Fully Geomatic Approach

This paper is focused on two main topics: crime scene reconstruction, based on a geomatic approach, and crime scene analysis, through GIS based procedures. According to the experience of the authors in performing forensic analysis for real cases, the aforesaid topics will be examined with the specific goal of verifying the relationship of human walk paths at a crime scene with blood patterns on the floor. In order to perform such analyses, the availability of pictures taken by first aiders is mandatory, since they provide information about the crime scene before items are moved or interfered with. Generally, those pictures are affected by large geometric distortions, thus - after a brief description of the geomatic techniques suitable for the acquisition of reference data (total station surveying, photogrammetry and laser scanning) - it will be shown the developed methodology, based on photogrammetric algorithms, aimed at calibrating, georeferencing and mosaicking the available images acquired on the scene. The crime scene analysis is based on a collection of GIS functionalities for simulating human walk movements and creating a statistically significant sample. The developed GIS software component will be described in detail, showing how the analysis of this statistical sample of simulated human walks allows to rigorously define the probability of performing a certain walk path without touching the bloodstains on the floor.

Survey Methodologies for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage Sites

In the Italian landscape there are a lot of Cultural Heritage sites, thirty seven of which are parts of the Unesco world heritage list. It means that frequently the disaster management has to deal with Cultural Heritage problems, such as preservation, safeguard, reconstruction, etc. Preserving Cultural Heritage for future generations is a duty; the importance of this task is proved by the attention which important international organizations have towards it (UNESCO, ICOMOS, CIPA).

3D Models in Cultural Heritage: Approaches for Their Creation and Use

Metric surveys are a key component in Cultural Heritage. Metric surveys are in fact a basic input for a wide range of activities, from documentation to study, from restoration to valorization, that rely on the current condition of the monument. In recent years, laser scanning and, more recently, digital photogrammetry offered new perspectives, widening the perspectives of 3D Cultural Heritage recording. Digital technologies provide new ways to collaborate, record excavations, and restore artifacts, and in such a way they are transforming the way Cultural Heritage practitioners researchers, archaeologists, curators work. This paper attempts to review the methods for 3D digitization that are today available and discuss the possible use of 3D models beyond the pure extraction of reliable and accurate measures.